Knife guard for slicing machines



P. J. LUCEY. KNIFE .GUARD FOR SLICING MACHINES.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 1922.

Patented Sept. 5, 1922..

. Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

, tunate AEN-r I PATRICK J. LUCEY, ORCHIGAGQ'ILLIN'OIS.

KNIFE GUARD EOE emot ve r cem s.

A iplication filed February 17 1e22, Serial no. 537,297.

To all whom it may concern: e

Be it known that I, PATRICK JJLUOEY, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago,county of Cookpand State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Knife Guards for Slicing Machines, of whichthefollowin is a specification' I p Iy invention relates to new anduseful improvements in knife guards for slicing machines, and has forits object the provision of guard means for the entire edge of theknife, including the near-or slicing portion of said edge. v I

The slicing machines on the "marketare usually provided with guard meansfor covering the upper portion and far portionof I the knife,.leavingthe inner orslicingportion of theknife exposed, and some of the machinesare provided-with means for guarding the slicingportion by the use of aI member placed outward and at, theside, of

the cutting edge of the knife, usually. a bent the lack of guard meansfor effectively c0vering the cutting portion of. theknife edge. It hasalso been proposed to cover the cutting portion of the knife edgeby ameans which is circularly slidable over the, old form of guard means atthe top and fa r portion of the r knife, in order to uncover the knifeedge, and is slidab leover the] cutting portion to cover the same, butthis circus larly slidable or telescopic means is actuated byhandrequiring constant attention,

and is therefore entirely impractical. V

It is my main object to avoid such unforaccidents and inconvenience aspointedoutabove, and to 1 provide guard means for fully and effectivelycovering the slicing portion of-the knifeedge, aswell as the remainingportions. v

It is my further'object to'fprovide' the guard means with a movable partforthe I slicing portion/of thefknifej edge, and prov Fig. 1 of my li'cl' noulited n Position thereon, I Y .v i

vide means automatically actuated by the machine for" moving said saidportion of the knife "during the effective slicing movement, and toagain cover said portion during the reverse movement.

" Other objects will appear hereinafter."

part to uncover The invention consists in thecombinations andarrangements of; parts hereinafter described and claimedl The invention.will be b u d d by reference to ,the' accompanying drawings forming a'partfof thlS SIJGCIfiCZLtlOIl, and in which,

is a side eta-tat r the knife and Fig. 2 i3 an endelevation of theguard,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectionon line 3-3ofFigl 1,

Fig. 4'is an enlarged vertical section on line 4& of Fig. 3, and

F g-.5 is ahorizontal s tj ofi i OfFigBQ." r Int e drawing I have showna portion of the frame 10 of a well-known type of slicing machineprovided with amovable table 11 and a supportingplate' l2 movablymounted on' said table. "Aknife 1 3 is rotatably mounted on a supportingbracket 14 providedon the upper end of a housing 15 extending from saidframe.

The guard, for the knife comprises a curved member 18, substantiallysemicircul lar in crossjse'ction, which covers and guards the upper andthe far portion of theiknife edge and is held in'position by means ofupper brackets 19 and 19, fastened to the upperpart of the housing 15and a bracket arm 20 fastened to the lower part'of said housing, in anysuitable manner. To the above guard I also add a 'stationary guard forthe cutting portionofthegknife edge in the form"of a curved r od" 21positioned slightly outwardly from the edge of the knife andon theconvex side thereof, and fastened at its upper end 'on the bracket arml9-by means of a member 22, or in any coni venientf'ma nner, and mountedat its lower end 23 on; a bracket 24 attached to the housing 15. Both oftheabove guards are retain'ed fixed in position.

In addition to the stationary guard means so far described,I-provideamovable or swingable guard means for-fullyan d effectivelycovering the cutting portion of knife edge, which means comprises acurved member 25 preferably semicircular in cross section which isprovided at its upper end with a laterally extending arm 26 pivotallymounted in a lug 27 attached to the bracket 19, and is provided at itslower end with a corresponding arm 28 pivotally mounted in the bracket24.

I provide means for automatically operating the movable guard, suchmeans comprising a lug 29 which extends horizontally from the lower endof the guard 25 and is provided with a slot 30, A pivot pin 31 ismovably positioned in' said slot and is fastened to the flattened end 32of a reciprocatory plunger 33 which is longitudinally movable through anopening 34 in the frame 10. A bracket 35 is mounted in frame 10,

near the opening 34 andknife 13, and a shaft 36 is rotatably mounted inthe lower part of said bracket. A bevel gear 37 is ad justably fastenedon one end of shaft 36, as

with a set screw 38, and meshes with a bevel pinion'39 adjustablyfastened on the usual driving shaft 40 of the slicing machines, and awasher ll is fastened on the opposite end of said shaft by means of apin L2 or in any suitable manner. The bevel gear 37 is pro vided with acam flange 43 half way around its rear face, and the plunger 33 has ,a:bearing shoe 4:4 adjustably mounted at its inner end, by a set screw l5and a stem l6 and sleeve 4-7 on the plunger and shoe, or by any meanssuitable to adjust the shoe for wear. A spring 49 bears with one endagainst the inner wall of a chamber 50 provided in the bracket 35, andwith the other end against the collar 51 mounted on the plunger 33 toconstantly urge the shoe 1 1 against the rear face of the bevel gear 38and cam flange 43.

In operation, as the driving shaft' iO is being actuated by the usualcrank wheel (not shown) or other driving means, the pinion 39 fastenedon said shaftrotates the gear 38. The number of teeth on thegear and onthe pinion are so arranged that the gear makes one complete revolutionduring the time that the supporting table 11 makes one complete round ofits to and fro motion with respect to the knife 13, and since thedriving shaft 40 of the usual slicing machine makes two revolutionsduring the complete round or to and fro motion of the table, the ratioof teeth on the gear 38 and pinion 39 is 2 to 1. The movable guard andoperating .mechanism therefor is so adjusted when. I

mount the same and while I fasten the pinion on thedriving shaft, thatduring thevslicing stroke of the machine or while the table 11 and plate12 move toward'the knife, the cam 43 engages the shoe l i and moves theplunger 33 outward, thereby moving the lug 29 and swinging the attachedguard 25 on its pivoting arms 26 and 23, away from the knife edge, intothe position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus clearing the cut tingportlon of said edge during the cutting or sllcmg stroke of the machine,and While the table makes its return movement cam as passes from undershoe l i permitting the spring 49 to force said shoe against the rearface of the gear 38 and to move shaft 33 inward and'again swing theguard 25 completely over the knife edge, and also over the stationaryguard rod 21, thereby effectively covering the cutting portion of saicedge.

From the above disclosure, it is apparent that'I have provided aneffective guard for fully covering the cutting portion'of the knifeedge, as well as the upper and far portion thereof, whereby the formerlyexperienced dangerous accidentsare substantially avoided.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carryin my invention into effect, this is capable orvariation and modification without departing from the spirit of theinvention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchvariations and modifications as come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having. described my invention, what I clalm as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1. In a machine of the class described, havp ing arotatable knife, a knife guard laterally swingable over a peripheralportion of said knife, and means actuated by said machine forautomatically operating said guard with said machine. 1

2. In combination with a slicing machine having a knife, stationary andmovable guard means for said knife, and means actuated by said machinefor automatically moving said movable guard means and expos- "ing theslicing portion of said knife durg the slicing movement of said machine.3. In comblnatlon with a slicing machine having a knife a guard for saidknife, in-

eluding pivoted guard means for entirely covering the slicing portion ofsaid knife,

and means operated by a driving element of said machine forautomatically swinging said. pivoted means. 1 I

4;. In combination with a slicing machine having a knife, stationaryguard means for the upper, near and far portion'of the knife edge,additional guard means pivotally mounted for entirely covering the nearportion of the knife edge, and means for automatically swinging saidadditional guard means.

5. In combination with a slicing machine having a knife, a 'guard'forcovering the cuttingportion of the knife edge, brackets at the side ofsaid knife,pivoting means on said'guard for swinging it laterally onsaid brackets, and means for automatically swinging said guard meansduring operation of said machine. v 6. In a slicing machine, incombination, a knife, guard means swingable over the cutting edge ofsaid knife, a driving shaft, and means actuated by said driving shaftfor automatically swinging said guard means. I 7. In a slicing machine,in combination, a driving shaft, a knife having guard-means,reciprocatory means for swinging said guard means,and means actuated bysaid driving shaft for operating said reciprocatory means. 8. In aslicing machine, in combination, a rotatable knife, a movable guard forsaid knife, a driving shaft, means actuated by said driving shaft formoving said guard away from said knife, said actuated means includingresilient means for moving said guard over said knife.

9. In a slicing machine, in combination, a rotatable knife, a movableguard for said knife, a driving shaft, cam means actuated by saiddriving shaft, and reciprocatory means actuated by said cam means formoving said guard.

10. In a slicing machine, in combination, a rotatable knife, a drivingshaft,'a movable guard for said knife, a member actuated by said drivingshaft, a cam on saidmember, reciprocatory means provided with. an adjustable Wear element. actuated by said cam, and meansoperativelyconnecting said reciprocatory means and said guard.

11. In a slicing machine, in combinatiom'a rotatable knife, a movableguard for said knife, a bracket, cam means mounted in said bracket, adriving shaft for said machine, means mounted on said driving shaftengaging and actuating said cam means, means movably mounted in saidbracket and engaged by said cam means, and means operas tively.connecting said movable means and said guard for moving said guard tocover or uncover said knife.

12. In a slicing machine, in combination, a circular knife rotatablymounted on said machine, a swingable guard for the cutting portion ofthe edge of said knife, a bracket mounted in said machine, a drivingshaft for said machine, a member mounted on said shaft, a rotatablemember mounted in said bracket and actuated by said member, a cam onsaid rotatable member, a reciprocatory member mounted in said bracket, awear element adjustably mounted on said reciprocatory'member beingactuated by said cam, and means operatively connecting saidreciprocatory member and said guard for swinging said guard over saidknifeedge and away from'said edge during the operationof said drivingshaft. 1. g

13. In a slicing machine, in combination, a

driving shaft, a rotatable knife, a table movable toward'and away fromsaid knife, movable guard means for said knife, and means connected withand actuated by said driving shaft for automatically moving said guardmeans to uncover and cover said knife respectively during the to and fromotion of said table. I

14. In a slicing machine, in combination,

a rotatable knife, means for actuating said,

knife, aguard for said knife, including movable means for entirelycovering the slicing portion of said knife, and means operated by saidknife actuating means for automatically operating said movable means. I

15. In a slicing machine, in combination, a rotatable knlfe, drivingmechanism forv a rotatable knife, stationary guard means for v theupper,the near and the farportion of the knife edge, additionalguardmeans for entirely covering the near portion of said knife edge,and means actuated by the driving mechanism of said machine forautomatically operating said additional guard means. vIn testimonywhereofIhave signed my name to this specification in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

. PATRICK J .LUCEY. Witnesses g FREDA C. APPLETON, J. DANIEL STUWE.

